Things That Cannot be Shaken
We live in a day when the Christian faith is under fire. Never before in history has the attack been quite so fierce or the enemy’s devices so subtle and devastating, for not only is the truth of revelation assailed from without the churches, but it is assailed even more tragically from within. There are those who profess the Name of Christ who nevertheless undermine the structure of belief and would, if they could, demolish the entire edifice. The faith once delivered to the saints is being tested to the foundations. As the Bishop of Woolwich claims in his most recent book, “The basic truth of Christianity itself is at issue” and “even God is at hazard.”
Not unnaturally there are those who, like Eli of old, tremble for the ark of God. They wonder whether the Church can survive the mortal storm. It seems like an unprotected island in a swirling sea of secularism, liable to be submerged. But we have only to look again at the reassurances of the Word to regain our Christian confidence. God will not allow His people to be swamped. Not even the gates of Hades itself can prevail against the true Church of Christ, founded on the rock of His own Person. We can take courage amidst all the confusion of our time, since if God is for us, nothing and nobody can be effectively against us. We are witnessing the disintegration of “those things that are shaken” in these turbulent days, so that “those things which cannot be shaken may remain” (Hebrews 12:27).
As believers, we are persuaded that the gospel is God’s answer in this as in any age. Despite the lowering clouds of doubt and criticism, it is our task to declare God’s Word without pulling any punches. If ever there was need for a quite uncompromising message from the Church surely it is today. Nothing less than the fulness of Christ can match this desperate hour. He abides, “the same yesterday, and today, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8).